By: Staff Writer
May 20, Colombo (LNW): Whispers around town reveal that several hush-hush discussions took place between Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) national organiser, Basil Rajapaksa, and President Ranil Wickremesinghe about the looming presidential election.
These meetings were so secretive that only a select few attended, leaving the media in the dark about the juicy details. However, sources hint that the talks ended in a deadlock.
The scoop comes to light that when President Wickremesinghe took office, he allegedly promised to woo a significant number of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) members over to the government.
But guess what? That grand plan has not materialised yet.
Basil Rajapaksa reportedly nudged the President to fulfil this pledge by bringing in 25 MPs from the SJB before June 15, as the clock ticks down to the presidential election.
Rumours have been swirling for the past two years about SJB members jumping ship to join the government, but those rumours fizzled out faster than they started.
With the Election Commission poised to call the presidential election by mid-July, the SLPP believes any further delay in election preparations is a strategic misstep.
So, if Wickremesinghe fails to deliver those 25 SJB members by June 15, the SLPP will have to make its move regarding the presidential election.
As Vesak week begins and May draws to a close, the political scene is heating up. How will things shift as we edge closer to the election? Stay tuned, because this political drama is far from over.
Adapted from original article, “පොහොට්ටුව තීරණයක් ගන්න සූදානමින් – ගේනවා කියූ 25 ගේන්න බැසිල් රනිල්ට දින දෙයි !” by Ruwan Nelugolla published on 20.05.2024
